South Carolina Returns To SEC Play At LSU

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- No. 16 South Carolina softball is set to return to conference action this weekend as it travels to Baton Rouge to face off against No. 8 LSU at Tiger Park. First pitch on Friday is set for 7:00 PM ET on SEC Network + before the series continues on Saturday at 7:00 PM ET on SEC Network. The series finale is set for Sunday at 2:00 PM ET on ESPNU. 

The Gamecocks come into the weekend having won four of their last five games with two wins over ranked opponents. 

Carolina will look to take the series over LSU for the first time in Baton Rouge since the conference moved to a three-game set and win the weekend for the second-consecutive time the two squads have met. 
 

THE GAMECOCKS 

• Carolina comes into the 2019 season looking to build upon a 49-17 season in which the Gamecocks reached the program’s second ever super regional after winning the Columbia Regional. 
• The Gamecocks welcome five freshmen and transfer Katie Prebble to the program this season to bring the Gamecocks to 19 active members. 
• Head coach Beverly Smith has been keeping the local talent home recently, as the Gamecocks have five South Carolina natives on roster and two of the last three South Carolina Gator Players of the Year. 
• Carolina won’t be lacking arms this season with five available coming into the new season, leaving 14 fielders. Freshman Rachel Vaughan comes in as coach Smith’s first left-handed pitcher during her time at South Carolina.

THE UPCOMING WEEKEND

• The Gamecocks closed out a five-game home stand on Wednesday night against Georgia State in a 7-3 win before hitting the road for LSU this weekend. The first game of the LSU series will be on SEC Network + while the last two will be on SEC Network and ESPNU. 
• South Carolina continued SEC play last weekend, as it split its series 1-1 against No. 24 Ole Miss. The Gamecocks took the first game of the series 2-0 before the series finale was rained out on Monday night. Kelsey Oh earned the win in the circle for the Gamecocks. 
• Carolina returns to SEC action this weekend for another tough test, this time against No. 8 LSU on the road at Tiger Park. The Gamecocks will look to win the series against the Tigers in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1997. The Gamecocks have never won a three-game series on the road in this series. 
• South Carolina came into the week with the 15th most home runs per game in the country and 16th best slugging percentage. Jana Johns leads the NCAA in hit by pitches per game.

NOTES AND TRENDS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND

• South Carolina shutout Ole Miss 2-0 on Saturday afternoon to open the series. This marked the first time since a 3-0 win over Auburn on April 23, 2017, the Gamecocks blanked a conference foe. 
• In the 2-0 win, Kelsey Oh tossed a season-high nine strikeouts in her complete game shutout performance. She has 17 strikeouts over her last two SEC games. 
• The Gamecocks notably hit back-to-back home runs for the second time in three games with the Georgia State game. This marked the third time this season Carolina had done so. 
• The month of March has been kind to Kennedy Clark. She’s hitting a Carolina best .389 with 10 RBI and a .459 on-base percentage. Alyssa Kumiyama has posted a team-best 16 RBI during the 18 games while Mackenzie Boesel has walked 11 times. 

THIS ISN’T SPARTA… BUT SHE’S GOT 300

• Head coach Beverly Smith earned her 300th victory as a head coach at South Carolina last Wednesday night with a 5-4 win over Duke. She was already in elite company only the second coach in program history with at least 200 wins.
• Smith’s first win as a head coach came on Feb. 11, 2011, at Beckham Field in a 10-6 victory over Charleston Southern. The Gamecocks eventually went 3-1 her first opening weekend that season. 
• Smith’s most recent win as a head coach came over No. 24 Ole Miss on Saturday. 
• A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Smith’s moved to 3-0 all-time against the Blue Devils and earned win No. 300 on last Wednesday night against Duke.

HOW TO WATCH THE GAMECOCKS IN 2019

• ESPN has shown some respect for the Gamecocks in the preseason, giving the program at least 30 games on the Family of Networks. 
• Carolina will have 21 home games broadcast as well nine road contests. 
• The Gamecocks first nationally televised game comes on March 24 against Ole Miss with a game on SEC Network. 
• South Carolina will have five games on SEC Network, two on ESPNU, two on ESPN2 and one on ESPN.

SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL RECORD 

• South Carolina has played 2,339 games in its softball history, going 1523-812-7 (.647) in its 44 years of history. 
• The Gamecocks have posted 30 or more wins each of the past six season under the direction of head coach Beverly Smith. 
• Carolina has protected home well, also, with 20 or more coming in friendly confines each of the past five years. 
• The Gamecocks have posted a combined 59 conference wins over the last five years. 

GAMECOCKS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS 

• South Carolina is 134-313-1 (.293) against opponents ranked in the NFCA top 25 since 1995. 
• Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 63-101 (.358) at home, 29-144 (.154) on the road and 43-67-1 (.407) in neutral-site outings.
• Last season, the Gamecocks went 8-14 against ranked teams, including an 8-1 record in home games. The Gamecocks notably swept Tennessee and Mississippi State in home series against ranked teams last year. The Gamecocks also took two of three games against Arkansas, as well. 
• In road games, the Gamecocks notably won a road series at Ole Miss to star the SEC season and earned their first win over Texas A&M since 2015.